John Force and his wife Laurie have three daughters: Ashley, Courtney and Brittany, all of whom currently or previously raced in the NHRA. Force's oldest daughter (from a previous marriage), Adria Hight, is the CFO of John Force Racing. Andrew H. Walker, Getty Images

John Force celebrates with daughter Courtney Force at the New England Nationals on June 23, 2013. Courtney bested her dad in the Funny Car finals, the first time they had ever faced each other in that round. Andrew Weber, USA TODAY Sports

John Force has made more than 500 starts and earned more than 130 wins since his Funny Car career began. Force won 10 consecutive championships from 1993 through 2002. Jennifer Stewart, USA TODAY Sports

John Force poses with daughter Ashley Force Hood at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2007. Ashley, who stopped racing full time after the 2010 season, became the first woman to win an NHRA Funny Car event, in 2008. Mark J. Rebilas, USA TODAY Sports

John Force was involved in a crash at the O'Reilly Auto Parts Fall Nationals in Ennis, Texas. Among injuries Force sustained: a broken ankle, abrasion of his right knee, a dislocated left wrist, and badly mangled fingers and toes. Gary A. Vasquez, USA TODAY Sports

Although he briefly attended Cerritos College with visions of playing football, John Force admitted that he was too slow to play at the next level. He opted, instead, for what was in his mind the next best thing: drag racing. Bob Harmeyer, Getty Images